Nairobi, 23 January
2012 - The world's newest nation South Sudan
has become the 197th signatory to the Vienna
Convention and Montreal Protocol - two multilateral
treaties that are helping to restore concentrations
of ozone in high altitudes around the planet,
thereby protecting life on Earth from the
sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) rays.
South Sudan, which became
an independent country in July 2011, adds
fresh momentum to the remarkable achievements
of the Vienna Convention and the Montreal
Protocol, which are administered by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The agreements are the
most widely ratified treaties in United
Nations history, and have enabled reductions
of over 98% of all global production and
consumption of controlled ozone-depleting
substances.
The Montreal Protocol
oversaw the global phase-out of chlorofluorocarbon
(CFCs) by 2010.
"Among the considerable
number of multilateral agreements agreed
between states over the past 40 years, the
...Montreal Protocol stands out", said
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
in 2009.
South Sudan deposited
its instruments of ratification for the
Vienna and Montreal Protocols on 12 January
2012.
This followed the participation
of South Sudan's Environment Minister as
an observer during the 9th meeting of the
Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the
Vienna Convention for the Protection of
the Ozone Layer and the twenty-third Meeting
of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol
on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
(MOP 23), held in Bali, Indonesia, last
November.
Addressing signatory
states, Alfred Ladu Gore, Minister of Environment
of the Republic of South Sudan, said:
"The government
of South Sudan has two important commitments:
maintenance of peace and security, and environmental
rehabilitation and sustainability essential
for economic reconstruction in our country.
The Republic of South Sudan is absolutely
committed to global environmental protection
and conservation of natural recourses.
To reinforce that commitment-it
is our outmost hope that we shall achieve
the aim to accede and ratify the two protocols
with your support."
That ambition has now
become reality, and the country will be
subject to the Vienna Convention and Montreal
Protocol from 11 April 2012 - the date when
both agreements will enter into force.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary
General and Executive Director, said: "The
establishment of the Montreal Protocol in
1987 set the world on track to reduce and
phase-out a wide range of chemicals found
in products from hairsprays and fire fighting
equipment to foams and air conditioners
that were destroying the ozone layer and
leading to dangerous 'holes' over Antarctica
and also the Arctic. Recently the world
has learnt that these cuts and phase-outs
have also benefited the climate because
the substances of concern are also powerful
greenhouse gases.
I would like to welcome
the new country of South Sudan into the
family of nations who have supported and
benefited from the Vienna Convention and
the Montreal Protocol in terms of environmental
protection, financial support and gains
in innovation and technology leaps in this
25th anniversary year of the protocol's
establishment and as the world looks towards
Rio+20 in June. The Green Economy, in the
context of sustainable development and poverty
eradication, may be a new term. But the
work on repairing the ozone layer and now
combating climate change underlines that
a Green Economy has been forged over many
years even if we did not use that term at
the time," added Mr Steiner.
Marco Gonzalez, Executive
Secretary of the Ozone Secretariat, also
welcomed South Sudan to the ozone protection
family: "This action reflects the strong
commitment of the newly born Republic of
South Sudan to join efforts to address global
environmental challenges. This is a significant
landmark in the history-making progression
of the Ozone Treaties and the United Nations,
since measures to protect the ozone layer
require global action in the unique status
of universal ratification of these treaties."
Some of these substances
have a global warming potential 90 to 11,000
times higher than carbon dioxide.
A UNEP report launched
in November 2011 projects that by 2050,
HFCs could be responsible for emissions
equivalent to 3.5 to 8.8 Gigatonnes (Gt)
of carbon dioxide (Gt CO2eq). This is equivalent
to the total current annual emissions from
transport, estimated at around 6-7 Gt.
Note to Editors:
Interesting facts about
the Montreal Protocol:
It is estimated that
without the Protocol, by the year 2050 ozone
depletion would have risen to at least 50%
in the northern hemisphere's mid latitudes
and 70% in the southern mid latitudes, about
10 times worse than current levels;
The Montreal Protocol
is estimated to have prevented:
19 million more cases
of non-melanoma cancer
1.5 million more cases of melanoma cancer
130 million more cases of eye cataracts
Ninety eight per cent
of all ozone depleting substances controlled
by the global treaty known as the Montreal
Protocol have been phased out - but what
remains is still a challenge to eliminate;
Global observations
have verified that atmospheric levels of
key ozone depleting substances are going
down and it is believed that with implementation
of the Protocol's provisions the ozone layer
should return to pre-1980 levels by 2050
to 2075;
About the Ozone Secretariat
The Ozone Secretariat
is the Secretariat for the Vienna Convention
for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and
for the Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Based at the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) offices
in Nairobi (Kenya), the Secretariat's main
duties include arranging for and servicing
all the meetings related to the Convention
and the Protocol, arranging for the implementation
of decisions taken by the Governments, monitoring
and reporting on the implementation of the
treaties, collecting and analysing data
on controlled ozone-depleting substances,
representing the treaties in relevant international
and regional meetings and providing information
to governments, international organizations
and individuals on various aspects of the
protection of the ozone layer.
